On Wednesday, September 25, 2024, we interviewed Martin DiStefano. Martin is the viticulturist and terroir rock star for Zuccardi winery. We covered nine wines: two white wines and seven reds. Check out what we learned about Martin, Zuccardi and the terroir of the Uco Valley.
Before we get to the wines, I thought I would share some tidbits Martin shared.
- The winery was founded 1963.
- Zuccardi’s winery was built over 3 years from 2013-2016.
- Martín is responsible for the development of the Zuccardi vineyards in the Uco Valley. He started working at Zuccardi in 2010, in the Research and Development department. In June 2010, he joined their vineyard management team full time.
- Sebastián Zuccardi is the Winemaking Director.
- Laura Principiano is the Head Winemaker.
- Zuccardi wants to be known as a place driven producer, reflecting the different terroirs of the Uco Valley.
- They use concrete vats and eggs, not stainless steel.
- If you properly clean a concrete tank, it will last 50 to 60 years.
- Zuccardi makes 1 million liters of wine per year. Their sister winery, Santa Julia makes 20 million liters of wine per year.
- They do not use a lot of oak. Semillon is their only white variety in oak.
- Top wines are not in oak, they are in concrete. Concrete controls the temperature better.
- The Andes Mountains influence all wines in Argentina.
- Water from the melting snows helps with irrigation as the sunlight in Argentina is very strong.
- There are many different microclimates in the Uco Valley. There are also several different soil types.
- Argentina’s recent vintages.
- Warm vintages: 2020, 2023, & 2024
- Cool/Cold Vintages: 2019 (Coldest ever), 2021, 2022. (Both of these produced fresh wines)
- If you are a collector, buy a lot of wine from the 2021 vintage.
- The Jose Zuccardi wine is made to honor Sebastián’s father. It was previously called Zeta.
- 2008 was the first year wines where produced from the Zuccardi project. From 2014 and beyond, they have used their new standards and style of winemaking.
- The Concreto wine changed their life. It was first produced in 2014. The soils for this wine stand out for the presence of a large conglomerate of stones and granite gravel covered with calcareous material.
- There are three notable areas of the Uco Valley – San Carlos, Tunuyan, & Tupungato.
- Paraje Altamira and La Consulta are in San Carlos. The winery is also in Paraje Altamira.
- San Pablo is in Tunuyan.
- Gualtallary is in Tupungato.
- Finca Piedra Infinita is a single vineyard wine.
- The Aluvional wines are “Paraje” wines. These wines are recognized sites inside a village (Geographical Indication) that stands out because of its distinct climate and soil characteristics.
- Poligonos wines are village wines.
- Q wines are regional wines. The simple letter ‘Q’ stands for Quality. It indicates vineyards and parcels that have been carefully selected.
- Serie A wines are also regional wines. Serie A comes from “Argentina Series” and expresses the most representative varieties from selected vineyards along the Andes Mountains.
- Zuccardi 2022 Semillon “Polígonos Tupungato” (Uco Valley) $23 (KWGTP 92.5)
- Zuccardi 2021 Malbec “Polígonos San Pablo” (Uco Valley) $30 (KWGTP 91)
- Zuccardi 2022 Malbec “Polígonos Altamira” (Uco Valley) $30 (KWGTP 93)
- Zuccardi 2021 Malbec “Concreto” (Uco Valley) $40 (KWGTP 94.5)
- Zuccardi 2019 Malbec “Jose Zuccardi” (Uco Valley) $50 (KWGTP 95)
- Zuccardi 2022 Chardonnay “Fósil” (Uco Valley) $90 (KWGTP 94)
- Zuccardi 2018 Malbec “Aluvional Paraje Altamira” (Uco Valley) $90 (KWGTP 94)
- Zuccardi 2019 Malbec “Aluvional Gualtallary” (Uco Valley) $90 (KWGTP 97)
- Zuccardi 2019 Malbec “Finca Piedra Infinita” (Uco Valley) $195 (KWGTP 94.5)
Other Zucccardi Wines Covered In Tastings, Post Interview:
- Zuccardi 2020 Malbec “Tito” (Uco Valley) $37 (KWGTP 93)
- Zuccardi 2022 Malbec “Q” (Uco Valley) $22 (KWGTP 91)
You can find reviews of past and future Zuccardi wines that we cover on the Zuccardi KWG winery page on our website. We hope you enjoy these terrific wines as much as we did. Cheers! Ken